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ifr160930–128Grain Farm Working Capital Nearly Exhausted
Gary Schnitkey, Agricultural Economist - University of Illinois Four consecutive years of lower commodity prices has nearly exhausted the financial resources of U.S. grain farmers. Todd Gleason looks into the problem with an agricultural economist from the University of Illinois.Working capital is used by farmers…
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1:59 radio self contained Working capital is used by farmers to buffer their low income years. They do this by building up their bank accounts, grain inventories and other assets during years of plenty. A review of the farms in the Illinois FBFM recording keeping service shows farmers did that from 2006 to 2012 says University of Illinois Agricultural Economist Gary Schnitkey.Schnitkey :25 …working capital anymore.Quote Summary - So, that was the era of high commodity prices and high incomes. Farmers increased working capital, then, and now we are in the process of reducing again. By the end of 2016, it will…

ifr160930–227Too Early to Sell the 2017 Soybean Crop
Darrel Good, Agricultural Economist - University of Illinois There’s a nagging question farmers are wondering about as they harvest what is quite likely to be their best soybean crop ever. Is it so good, so plentiful, that it might be time to consider selling some of next year’s crop. Todd Gleason has more…Let’s start with some plain facts…
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3:39 radio self containedLet’s start with some plain facts. The price of soybeans from April through August was higher, on average, than it was in the prior seven months. This says Darrel Good is because the trade expected there to be a whole lot of soybeans leftover from last years harvest by the time right now arrived. Something like 450 million bushels. That didn’t happen. The South American crop failed and U.S. exports jumped by 250 million bushels. Like most of the previous years, all but one since 2008, this left fewer than 200 bushels in the bin from the previous season’s soybea…

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TCP–160928–02Gardening | Why Not to Cut Your Perennials this Fall
Kim Ellson, University of Illinois Extension Educator - Cook County, IllinoissourceMost gardeners will associate the cutting and removal of perennials and raking of leaves as typical autumn chores. Naturally we want to ensure we are left with a garden that looks tidy and presentable, and we can rest assured that come springtime we will not have to tackle these chores in addition to controlling spring weeds. However removing all this plant material can be fatal for next year’s butterfly population.

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TCP–160928–01Building Your Compost Pile
Duane Friend, Extension Educator - University of IllinoisSourcePut a pile of leaves, a cardboard box and a watermelon in your back yard, exposed to the elements, and they will eventually decompose. How long each takes to break down depends on a number of factors. Backyard composting is a process designed to speed up the breakdown or decomposing of organic materials. Let’s take a closer look at how we manipulate the process and speed things up.

ifr160923–223Not Much Chance USDA Will Change Corn Yield or Acreage
Darrel Good, Agricultural Economist - University of Illinois Barring a weather catastrophe in the United States, there isn’t much that’s likely to change USDA’s corn production calculation. Todd Gleason has more…Early corn yield reports have been good…
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2:10 tv cg Early corn yield reports have been good, but pretty variable. There are more than few concerns about a disease called diplodia, too. Some are beginning to piece these items together to make a case for USDA to lower its corn yield estimate. This isn’t very likely thinks University of Illinois Agricultural Economist Darrel Good. Good :27 …estimate are bucking history, but you can’t rule it out.Quote Summary - The fact is, if you look at the last 20 years of history, there is a strong tendency of the corn yield estimate to get higher in January compared to what it was in September. This has happened 70% of the time in…

ifr160923–219Hand Washing Prevents Disease
Diane Reinhold, Extension Nutrition & Wellness Educator - University of IllinoisPress ReleaseThink about this: Do you wash your hands after taking out the garbage? Touching your face or hair? Petting the dog? Changing a diaper? Blowing your nose? Sneezing? Before and after putting on a Band-Aid? Before sitting down for a meal? Before and after handling raw meat? After using the bathroom? According to the 2015 annual Healthy Hand Washing Survey, only 66% of Americans report washing their hands after using the bathroom. Washing hands is the simplest and one of the most effective methods in preventing food poisoning. Spending an extra 20–30 seconds in the restroom properly washing hands can prevent hours spent in there later due to food poisoning.

ifr160922–216Waiting for a Shift in U.S. Corn Acres
Darrel Good, Agricultural Economist - University of Illinois Farmers in the United States are about to harvest one of their best corn crops ever and prices are low. Todd Gleason reports they may need to hang on to the crop for while if they want a better offer, and that could take a shift to soybeans next spring. The United States Department of Agriculture…
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2:06 radio self containedThe United States Department of Agriculture judges this year’s corn crop to be a record breaker. If it all comes in as predicted in USDA’s September reports there will be none bigger, and the market believes it so far. The price of corn has dropped about a dollar a bushel since earlier in the summer. This price isn’t likely to change much thinks Darrel Good until some new information comes along in one of the USDA reports, and that might not be until next spring.Good :28 …relief on the supply side of the corn market. Quote Summary - As long as w…

ifr160916–214The Big Story from the Monday Reports
Darrel Good, Agricultural Economist - University of Illinois The big story from the September USDA reports is the size of the soybean crop in the United States. Todd Gleason has more on the implications of the fifty plus bushel to the acre yield.2:53 radio
3:08 radio self contained The soybean crop in the United States is big. Record breaking, in fact, on two fronts. The 50.6 bushel to the acre national average yield is the largest ever, and it will consequently produce a record breaking four-billion-two-hundred-and-one million bushels of beans. This staggering number makes USDA’s August guess at the size of the crop look meager. It was 1.7 bushels to the acre less and when the September number was released the trade collectively gasped and turned in hopes to the consumption part of the USDA Supply and Demand table. They were most definitely surprised says University of Illinois Agricultural Economist Darrel Good.Good :35 …last year, …

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TCP–160907–01Fall Lawn Care; seeding & over-seeding
Tom Voigt, Extension Turf Grass Specialist - University of Illinois Fall is the best time of year to plant grass says Tom Voigt. He is a turf grass specialist for University of Illinois Extension. Take time this fall to assess your yard, patch dead areas, control weeds, and fertilize.

ifr160902–201Dealing with Tree Leaves
Rhonda Ferree, Extension Horticulture Educator - University of IllinoisRather than bagging or removing fallen leaves, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator Rhonda Ferree suggests using them in your yard.“The tree leaves that accumulate in and around your landscape represent a valuable natural resource that can be used to provide a good source of organic matter and nutrients for use in your landscape,” Ferree says. “Leaves contain 50 to 80 percent of the nutrients a plant extracts from the soil and air during the season. Therefore, leaves should be managed and used rather than bagged or burned.”Ferree says adding a 2-inch layer of leaf mulch adds approximately 150 pounds of nitrogen, 20 pounds of phosphorus, and 65 pounds of potassium per acre. Due to natural soil buffering and breakdown in most soil types, leaf mulch also has no significant effect on soil pH. Even oak leaves, which are acid (4.5 to 4.7 pH) when fresh, break down t…

Urbana, Illinois - Wednesday morning September 7, 2016 University of Illinois Extension Agricultural Economist Gary Schnitkey presented a webinar looking forward into 2017. The discussion centered on farm profitability, projected income, and cash rents. You may the watch the webinar. What follows is a summary of the hour long content.

The USDA WASDE monthly average corn price is $4.67 from 2006 to 2016. The price of corn has been below this average since the fall of 2013 & Gary Schnitkey believes it is likely to continue to stay below this average through the 2017/18 crop year.

Each year USDA tracks the average marketing year cash price. This price is updated monthly in the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. The average cash price for corn from 1975 to 2005 is $2.33, $5.95 for soybeans. This is a long term national average cash price. The USDA projected estimates for this marketing year (2016/17) are currently $3.15 and $9.10. The USDA estima…

Labor Day (First Monday in September)
Source: US Embassy Stockholm Sweden This piece is self contained. It needs no anchor introI’m Todd Gleason for University of Illinois…
3:19I’m Todd Gleason for University of Illinois Extension with a history of labor day in the United States. It’s adapted from a story found on the United States Embassy to Sweden’s website.Eleven-year-old Peter McGuire sold papers on the street in New York City. He shined shoes and cleaned stores and later ran errands. It was 1863 and his father, a poor Irish immigrant, had just enlisted to fight in the Civil War. Peter had to help support his mother and six brothers and sisters.Many immigrants settled in New York City in the nineteenth century. They found that living conditions were not as wonderful as they had dreamed. Often there were six families crowded into a house made for one family. Thousands of children had to go to work. Working conditions were even worse. Immigrant men, women and children worked in fact…